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Simon Hackett (left) with Jorg HackerAn SA-based airborne research institute that tracks everything from dinosaur footprints to cattle flatulence has received a major research boost from a more than $1 million donation by the Hackett Foundation.
Airborne Research Australia (ARA) was...

A National Science Week event in the remote SA community of Arkaroola today will use a MIMP microwave wireless network to showcase the value of telehealth for regional Australia.
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The boards of ASX 200-listed companies have less than a one in eight chance of achieving gender equality in their membership by the year 2050, according to rigorous predictive statistical analysis by global advisory firm Pottinger.
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As an international campaign to protect people with albinism gains steam, Australians affected by the genetic condition will gather to celebrate International Albinism Awareness Day on Monday, June 13.
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Australian e-commerce company NoQ has delivered an online bonus for dozens of independent supermarkets Australia-wide that are defending their businesses from attack by the grocery giants.
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UltraServe VP Operations Vishnu RoyAustralian ecommerce specialist UltraServe has created the new role of Vice President Operations to support delivering services to meet rapidly growing local and international demand.
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Simon Hackett
Listen to Simon Hackett speak with RN Breakfast's Fran Kelly about how South Australia is "transforming itself from a rust bucket state to a global model for 21st century living".
Simon, Executive Chairman of Australian battery manufacturer...

During a presentation at WOMADelaide 2016, Redflow Executive Chairman Simon Hackett predicted that energy storage will become widely deployed in the next few years.
In a panel discussion called Off Grid Game Changers, ABC Science Show host Robyin WIlliams hosted a...

I declare, I have seen the light although I was mired in doubt to start with.
What held me back from accepting the cloud into my life was fear - the terror of losing control.
It started when I joined an IT...

Impress Media Australia allows you to subscribe to content from www.impress.com.au via an RSS (Rich Site Summary) feed, which syndicates our website’s regularly updated content. Our aim is to save you time by letting you read the latest content from...

iPhone Face-off

As Apple launches its new iPhone 3G S, JOHN HARRIS asks whether it is worth upgrading from last year's model.

The old saw that change is the only constant in technology is no salve when a favourite toy is superseded.

After a year of ego gratification from the iPhone hanging from my belt, last Friday I sat next to a colleague as she set up her new Apple iPhone 3G S.

While not overwhelmed by envy, I was curious to discover whether the new version was worth the change. So, when Vodafone offered to let me review the new handset over the weekend, I put it through the paces against my iPhone.

Physically, they look the same, except for the worn silver iPhone logo on the back of mine. The phone’s software is also similar, thanks to upgrading my iPhone to OS 3.0 last month.

What sets the iPhone 3G S apart is its quicker performance: This was evident despite installing a backup of my handset’s data to the new phone to make the comparison fair.

Opening the Messages app on the new phone took just one second while my old phone took twice as long. The calendar and calculator apps delivered the same sort of difference.

As well as voice controls, the new Phone 3G S boasts a three-megapixel camera with autofocus and video recording, a major improvement on the old model’s two megapixel camera.

However when I used it to take photos in my office, images were not significantly better than those of the old handset, despite containing nearly twice as much data.

Despite customers reporting that the new model struggles to make it through a day without a power top-up, a major attraction to the iPhone 3G S is Apple’s promise of improved battery performance.

So I gave the review unit a good charge up and then hammered it with phone calls and neglected to charge it overnight, a routine that is lethal for my handset.

When I checked it next morning, the iPhone 3G S still held a charge, although it displayed a warning message.

The new iPhone’s call quality is also better: I even successfully made a call while I walking under high voltage power lines that typically disrupt calls with my own phone.

The Apple iPhone 3G S is definitely an improvement on last year’s model, but is it worth $879 for the 16GB version or $1040 for the new 32GB model?

For my money, the answer is no: I’ve decided to limp through the rest of my contract with Optus using my current handset to see what Apple offers this time next year.

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